Since Launching TheiMac.com, we have been getting stories left and right of people migrating from PCs to Mac BECAUSE of the iMac. These are people that have been heavily PC driven for a LONG time.
Well, we wanted to share some of these inspiring stories with you.
Before we begin, if you are planning to buy an iMac, and you've always been PC based, or your company or school is planning to my Macs because of the iMac, and it's always been PC, please e-mail Robert . We'll add your story to this page.
Thinking Better...
I'd like to share why I'm switching whole-heartedly to the Macintosh Platform. First of all, yes, I'm a PC user (for the moment). I'll list the reasons and then go a little further in depth.
1. Ease of use
2. Windows 95 a.k.a. Sir Crash-a-lot
3. The iMac
1. Ease of use: I've been using PCs since I was 6 years old. I know the ins and outs of PCs. I grew up typing C://yougetthepoint at the good ole' DOS prompt. Of course it's now Much easier, but it took Microsoft lots of years (and Apple's ingenuity) to realize what people want is a Graphical User Interface, and yes Ease Of Use.
2. El Crash-a-lot: Windows 95, 98 crashes a Whole Lot more than it should. The reason it's so unstable is that Microsoft still uses the old DOS subsystem underneath the pretty Windows Interface. They've solved this problem in NT but they're is still the Ease of Use thing...
3. The iMac: When all is said and done, the big reason I'm switching to Macintosh is iMac. I'm sick of everyone thinking the same way about how to build a computer.
Beige, anyone?
I feel truly confident that Steve Jobs (Apple God) has the company on a complete turnaround. Profits are up, software is pouring out, and Mac users have more spirit than ever. They now can tell their PC-using friends that they truly Think Better (not just Different)
And now, finally, I DO TO.
Thinking Clearly, Andrew
Yes, I too am converting from the PC world
I have grown up on PC's, used them in software development, and in my current job (let's see that's about 12 years altogether). I have poked fun at my brother who has always been in love with the Macintosh, as well as any other Mac lovers.
Well, I recently saw Steve Jobs keynote speech and became an instant convert. The next day, I bought some stock and started reading every bit of info I could about the new iMac. To top it off, I just saw a demo of the iMac @ the Aerospace Corporation today. This thing is a screamer. The Apple guy was simultaneously running the keynote speech Quicktime movie and an AutoCad file in Windows95 using the Virtual PC emulator with no loss of frames -- very impressive. In addition, he was able to run the Quake in DOS version and run UNIX. He also said that the iMac runs faster than the 266Mhz desktop model because it runs the ROM in RAM. I guess this is a new feature that will be in the next edition of the ProMacs.
Anyway, I have been talking up the iMac and two other PC people at work will also be buying one. The iMac is a piece of art AND it blows away anything Intel can throw at it. Long live Apple and Steve Jobs!
Jonathan J. Sumida
An "alternative" PC user chooses the true alternative...
I WANT AN IMAC!!! Well you and Apple have got another convert on your hands. I've been using a PC since the dark days of DOS, but I've always considered myself somewhat of an "alternative" PC user. I have never owned an Intel processor through five machines. I ran PC-DOS, DR-DOS, Novell DOS and Caldera's OpenDOS over MS-DOS. I ran OS/2 for four years before IBM just about gave up on it. I ran BSD and Linux while all of my friends were dealing with the Microsoft's blue screen of death. Only for the past year have I made Windows 95 my main OS, simply because they've got every application imaginable for it, even if 85% of it isn't worth the media it is distributed on.
I've always liked Apple and the Macintosh, but it was always just too far out of my monetary confines to make it an option for me. When Apple began licensing the OS out to third party manufacturer's I thought Apple finally got their head together, but before I knew it Apple pulled the plug on that option.
Now with the iMac I find the perfect balance of most of the things I've been looking for in a computer.
1. Simple to use, but incredibly robust OS. Linux and OS/2 are still (or atleast were for many of Apple's darker days) technically superior to Windowsand MacOS, but talk about difficult to use. As far as I can see, MacOS isfar more robust and stable than Windows 9x will ever be, and on a big'nbeefy G3, MacOS is just as good as the difficult-to-use, strict-hardware-requiring (not to mention pricey) Windows NT.
2. Affordable. $1299 for a complete system, sans floppy (hopefully under $1800 Canadian for my fellow Canucks...). None of this "Monitor sold seperately" garbage in the fine print. No more daily crashes (hopefully...). How many PC's will you find configured similarly with a 10/100Base-T adapter, and 15" monitor included for under US$1300?
3. Applications support (current, and more impressively, forthcoming). Everything I need is out for the Mac, or will be very soon. Mac Office 98 looks better than Win Office 97. All the important Internet technologies are readily available for the Mac. My favorite games are Mac-friendly (Myth, Diablo, Quake, Starcraft is coming). And even if they aren't there yet, there is always Virtual PC and I'll still have a true PC around as well.
4. It isn't Microsoft, or Intel. :) C'mon, you've got to love the underdog...
Pretty much the only thing I'm disappointed with the lack of expandability. I'm sure the processor, RAM, VRAM, and hard drive will all upgrade easily, but I wish there was just one PCI slot for something fun, like a Voodoo board or true SCSI. When USB peripherals start to surface in abundance, I'll be happy. When Palm Computing releases their all new MacPac I'll be really happy. If all three happened I'd be ecstatic. But regardless, you've got another convert waiting in the wings for the iMac to arrive.
Patrick J. Cuyegkeng
Leaving the Upredictable World of Windows
I guess this is a kind of Computers Anonymous, a cathartic release for us A-types who feel we have corrected a major mistake in our lives. My trusty old 610 finally died one day. So after all those years I decided to follow the thronging crowds. After all, how bad could Windows 95 be?
I was to find out. I had a state of the art computer for about 5 seconds. My 200 mhz MMX computer is now just an also also ran. M$ coined the expression "Plug and Pray". Actually there are several variations: Point and Pray, Click and Pray, Start and Pray, and many days it's just Pray that the darn thing will work without major surprises.
Over the next two years I became less and less enamoured with the computer system for the masses. Then I began seeing these ads on the WWW for something called iMac. At first I ignored it and then I began to examine the details. I stopped by CompUSA with my son, the Computer Science major (he's also a Mac fan). We marveled at the G3s' speed, including running something called Virtual PC (that caught my eye).
Back online I began seeing early reports of the iMac's speed and features. I guess I also have to confess to being a technophile. Anyway, I decided I had to have an iMac. My CompUSA got in 10 (one was mine) and sold 15 the first day. Two weeks later I am very pleased with my purchase. I added an extra 64 megs of RAM, an Epson 600 printer and cable. I was also able to hook my JBL Media 3 speakers and woofers with one plug (Now my iMac comes on with a large "whoom"--I love it).
And, yes, I did get Virtual PC so now I have Windows on my iMac to run those few apps I had left over from my PC. Of course I find myself needing it less each day. Imagine that!
That's my story. I'm glad it only took one step. Just classify me a happy iMac owner.
Phililp Bennett
After a week I was hardly even touching my Win98 machine
I am a web/graphic designer that has been pro-wIntel for a long time. Although I had occasionally used macs, and knew a fair amount about them, I hadn't ever REALLY used one. Then I became hooked on the iMac. I thought hard, and initially ordered one as a toy, and to check out what my web pages would look like on a Mac. However, after a couple of days, and a 32 MB memory upgrade (free with purchase of course), it became apparent that the Mac was over-powering my PentiumII 350MHz in speed, and for general ease of use, interface customization, and personality that the iMac exhudes like a rotten bowl of potato salad on a hot day (that's a good thing), I ended up spending more and more time on it. By the end of the first week, I was hardly touching my Win98 machine.
The biggest shock to me was that applications such as Internet Explorer actually run faster and are FAR more stable and customizable than on the PC side. Office 98 is another one...such Irony from Captain MS!
In short, the iMac wins. I love it.
Clayton Fixsen
Best of All worlds
I thought I would take a stab at this. I am first an formost an AMIGA user (diehard), and with the death of the Amiga I switched to a PC. I have been extremly happy with my PC, but I find myself needing a second machine while my PC renders 3D projects. So after looking around I decided on the iMac just because, well, it's a cool little machine!! 8-) So I will be networking it with my PC and Amiga. So I have the best of all the worlds. 8-)
Mark Streed
PC to iMac Migration
For several years I had an old Classic... you know, the last of the triple-zeros... Anyway, when it finally died four years ago, I also had a 386 that became my mainstay. I have stayed with PCs since. I tell myself that I prefer the customizability, but have become disgruntled of late, seeing it more as something I must do for this overrated wintel doorstop to do more than load windows for 3 hours at a time... When I heard the iMac was out, I checked it out, and I was hooked. I am hoping that I just might get a graduation present come next May, if ya know what I mean. iMac here I come!
Jason Short
Changing Teams
I went to CompUSA last night (Pittsburgh, 1 and 1/2 hours away) to see the iMac and then try to talk myself out of buying one. After all, I'm a Windows user and have been all my life. With the exception of typing a paper one time, I've never used Mac OS! So my plan was to go see the Imac and then go over to the windows section and pick out a new laptop.
I got to CompUSA and rushed back to all the balloons to see this little gem. It was so damn cute (I don't think I've ever said that about anything dealing with computers). I sat there and tried to play with it but I didn't want to take up too much time because the Imac was attracting such a crowd. So then I went to look at software (my dad thinks I'm crazy for switching to Mac, oh well it won't be the first time he's questioned my sanity). Pretty goood selection but consider I use my computer for internet and typing papers I think I won't really have to worry about software....
My only complaint was that the CompUSA people were such (derogatory term meaning not very nice.) They treated me like I didn't have enough money to buy a computer or something (I'm only 21..); so when I pulled out the money to pay in full for the imac and preorder an imation drive and bought $600 worth of software I felt a little bit redeemed...<g>
The only person that was really helpful was the Imac volunteer, I wish I could have gave him the comission. BTW, the salesmens eyes bugged out when I told them that I was a windows user and I saw smiles from the die hard mac fans....I guess I'm the upper eschelon of Apple's target market...Looks like they are going to do well with this product...: )
Later,
Chris -- A Brand New Mac User
The iMac is a Good Deal
I'm a PC user, and am in the market for a new computer. I have decided that a new iMac is the perfect choice for home/small business use. While I have been able to find inexpensive PC's, the iMac represents a good deal in comparison with these systems. One of the cheapest PC systems that I have been able to find that offers respectable performance is the Tiger K-Series 300, which is nicely equipped with a K6-300, 4.3 GB hard disk, 32 MB SDRAM, 1MB secondary cache, 56K modem, 2 USB ports, and Windows 98, all for $800. That sounds bad. With similar features, the iMac costs $1299. A $500 difference. But if you really look at it, the deal isn't as great as it might seem. The Tiger PC does not include a monitor, and the company offers an optional 15" monitor for $159.
That knocks the price up to $959. And I don't even think that shows the real cost, since a 15" monitor that costs only $159 must be pretty bad. Also, the iMac includes built-in 10/100 Ethernet, which is lacking in the Tiger PC and, indeed, in most PCs. From what I can figure, that's at least $100 value there. And the iMac includes an infra-red data port, which I have yet to see on a PC, but may be useful in the future. That's worth something too.
Taken together, they are very price competitive. Then there are the performance issues to consider. The iMac only has 512K of cache, but that runs at half processor speed, 117 MHz, as opposed to the 66 MHz that the Tiger runs at through the system bus. That's a major speed improvement and an iMac advantage. The processor is also a K6, which, in general, is significantly slower than the Pentium II at the same clock speeds. Given that the G3 is already faster than the Pentium II, it's clear that the G3 more than toasts the K6, even though it runs at 300 MHz. The PC does offer greater expandibilty than the iMac, but I have owned PCs, and I know, that almost all of the time it is just easier and cheaper to buy a whole new system than to even bother trying to upgrade an existing system. Given that the iMac is very cost competitive, includes many useful networking features built-in, and that the PC that I use to type this on now crashes nearly every day, sometimes more often, doing even the simplest of operations, I find myself being drawn more and more to the "light."
Master105@xxx.xxx
Converting to Mac...
I have always been an avid PC user since the mid-80's (was a little kid back then). I sure knew all those DOS-commands. While the Macintosh existed then, I barely knew of it. It would've cost a fortune as well. I wasn't too productive on that PC, though but just did simple graphics. I lost my interest in computing from late 80s to mid90's, since console games (Nintendo, Sega, etc.) were appealing and popular.
Then sometime in around '94 I regained interest in computers once again, since I was hearing lots about "multi-media" and awesome games. I ended up buying a PC in late '95. It was a Pentium75MHz, 8mb of RAM, 1GB disk, 4x CD...not the best system back then, but not the worst...Anyways, during the first year or so, it sufficed for me...Then got into the internet "craze" started downloading like crazy, becoming more aware of games, etc...
Eventually, once in a while, I've had my problems with PC's and Win95...but I convinced myself, "Nah it happens to everyone"... Of what I heard of Macs, has been nearly all negative. Slow, incompetitive, nearly dead, crappy OS, lack of software, few games, expensive, incompatible, and just everything else...I have realized that if Windows/Intel is just more popular, it must be better.
Over a year later, I owned many apps and games, printer, scanner, more RAM, removeable drive, and already grown tired of PC problems in general. I also thought of an alternative PC OS, such as Linux, BSD, or BeOS...they have their advantages, but my main interest is graphics, and some gaming.